The Average Women's Golf Swing Speeds

by Thomas Mitsos, Demand Media

Loreno Ochoa generates a lot of club speed despite her small stature.

Former LPGA Tour Pro Loreno Ochoa is 5 foot, 5 inches and weighs 120 pounds, yet she averages 271 yards on her drives. She does this by perfecting her technique and creating club head speed. The average amateur female golfer has a club head speed of 65 mph. However, you can hit drives farther if you work on perfecting your swing technique and choosing the right equipment for you.

Average Men’s Swing Speed

The average amateur men’s swing speed is 90 mph. If you compare that to the women’s swing speed you can see that women can have a difficult time trying to compete with the men. The average amateur women’s drive is 155 yards compared to 225 yards for men.

Changing Your Swing

There are ways to get a faster swing speed and that is by changing your swing technique. Doing things like gripping the club tighter, taking a firm stance and creating the right support will help you swing the club faster. Try to not overturn your lower body. It can be a problem if you are generally more flexible. However, if you attempt to keep your hips and knees in place at the start of your swing, you will have a more powerful downswing.

Club Fitting

Club fitting will help you find the club that is right for you. Picking golf clubs is like picking out clothes. You need the right match for your body type. Height, arm length and hand size all determine the perfect club for you. For women with lower club speed, you will want to get a driver with 13 to 15 degrees of loft. This can increase your drives as much as 15 yards. That’s a huge difference. If you only get to play a few times per year and consistency is an issue, you may want shorter clubs with more loft. More loft creates backspin, which means less side spin so your shots will not drift to the side as much. Straighter shots mean more fun playing.

Golf Balls

All golf balls have compression. This is how much the ball flattens when the club face hits it. Generally, if you have a slower swing speed, you will want to use a ball with a softer compression. The softer the compression, the more velocity you can get on the ball from a slower swing speed.

About the Author

Thomas Mitsos covers high school sports as the central desk reporter for MLive Media Group, where he has worked since 2009. He has also contributed to "Grand Rapids Magazine" and "Grand Rapids Family." Mitsos holds a B.A. in professional writing from Grand Valley State University.